The Angry Heart: Overcoming Borderline and Addictive Disorders Paperback – October 1, 1997

Some persons with BPD really cannot use therapy very well, and in many parts of the country--outside the NYC and San Francisco and a couple of other major urban centers--it is hard to find therapists who really know how to work with borderlines. Indeed, many therapists don't even recognize BPD when it's right in front of them, especially if the borderline is talented (as so many are) at knowing what the therapist wants to see in order to think well of him or her. Especially when a very smart BPD, having spent a lifetime at pleasing authority figures and cajoling them into the role of caretaker, encounters a rather less smart therapist, the stage is set for a folie a deux, with the therapist ratifying the patient's pathology and falling into something like the role of worshipful caretaker.Thus, self-study is sometimes the best route for the BPD who is serious about getting better.Self-study is always helpful for the BPD, even the BPD who has a savvy therapist--that is, a therapist who does not want to be a hero or the sole source of help. (If your therapist doesn't like the idea of your doing self-guided study, run.) For that purpose, too, this book is excellent.The authors have constructed some absolutely brilliant exercises, and they guide you through the kind of structured work that BPD's need in order to acquire inner order in place of their terrified chaos.If you're a therapist who works with BPD's, look at this book as something you might want to suggest that your patients buy and use in conjunction with therapy. If you are, or have reason to suspect, you suffer BPD, have a look--especially if therapy hasn't worked so well for you.In my experience as a therapist, I found that patients with BPD are often the most intelligent, gifted, and tragically damaged of patients--but that precisely because their inner lives are so chaotic, they are better able to acquire good structure than "more functional" patients who had well-developed maladaptive structures already in place. Taking apart a long-reinforced structure is very hard, while building from chaos is, in a sense, free of that task. This book can help with finding authentic structure, in an autonomous process that minimizes some of the dangers of BPD-in-therapy.I have come to believe that two things, not taught in textbooks, indicate whether a BPD can get well: courage and a good heart. If you have those things, you should never let anyone, therapist or otherwise, discourage you from the path to a whole, integrated life. If you have those, buy this book at help yourself toward a life free of the horrors of your early days.

I give this book to every abusive dude I end up dating by mistake. They don’t read it, but I do every time. Great book.

This book is a great read and reference tool. The fact arises many BPD people are great at masking their feelings, and addictions. Recognizing pain is traded for addiction. Instead of dealing with the disorder, the person masks the symptoms with other habits to self medicate. Sometimes, the cycle goes on for years without detection. Other times, the addiction is very apparent and many people suffer. Change and improvement are possible when the person diagnosed is willing to seek treatment and therapy. This is a great read, and I recommend the book for anyone affected by this disorder, or their loved ones.

I have yet to read to far into it but I like how a males perspective is used and in such a close way to a female. While it does acknowledge that males with BPD tend to be misdiagnosed as Antisocial, it also explains many symptoms in males that are also in females. I suspect this to be more recognizable for a gay male, such as myself, with a very sensitive female personality but also being recognized without having to do the drag queen wannabe girl bit. I'm sensitive but I wear male clothing, only make up I would be into is eyeliner (Bottom lids).Point is, fair read for both genders, give it a chance..

This is an incredible book.Its not about reading the book, just reading the book won't change a single thing.It's about writing out the answers to the difficult but necessary questions that are at the end of each chapter.The questions cover the entire foundation of your life, from a small child to an adult, which has to be shifted and rebuilt in order for you to eliminate the addiction or BPD and lead a happier healthier life.

I bought this book because it is a "workbook" also. It is NOT only for people with Borderline personality disorder, which I myself do not have. I find it a very useful tool for self-exploration into why we do the things we do, sometimes over and over again with the same unsatisfactory outcomes and also found it very useful for Addictive disorders. It is really for someone who wants to get in their head and find out what makes them tick, especially repressed anger and rage.

Not great but it had some good information

As a behavioral health professional, I was very impressed by the clarity and wide-ranging insight of this book. It covers so much more than the title indicates, with valuable perspectives on life in this crazy world.

Really good book. I don't have bpd but I suspected someone close to me has. I bought this for them and read it before giving it to them. I won't say that was an entirely successful operation however if someone is open to help I think this book would really help them.

I'm a borderline and I'm also a psychiatric nurse. This has been the one and only piece of literature that has made a difference in how I see myself, operate within my life, and relate to others. If you aren't ready, don't read it, it will be a waste of your time. This is only for people that are willing and READY to make a difference in how they live and see/experience life.If you know a borderline, this is the definitive work on how to SEE the person you know, and possibly love. It's hard to love us; this might make the difference in how your relationship goes. IF you're ready to read it.

Very informative and easy to follow book. Reading this book not only lets you know that what you're feeling in real but also how to cope and you're not alone.

Good condition

This book has provided me some direction which I really needed.